Column’s questionable conclusion

A June commentary about “feminist outrage” is the perfect example of a “straw-man” argument. The writer’s thesis is that Democrats have created the #MeToo movement to point out the lasciviousness of people like President Donald Trump.

This is false: The #MeToo movement started when women accused powerful Hollywood men of wrongdoing. It’s a movement about women and their relationship to powerful men, not Republicans versus Democrats. By mischaracterizing this, the writer is able to argue Republicans don’t care about Trump’s wrongdoing and “prove” the #MeToo movement is misguided. But the writer didn’t actually prove anything: He made a false statement and ran with it.

This tactic is too prevalent today. When people jump to conclusions, question those conclusions. Herald-Leader editors, don’t print bad rhetoric like this unless you’d also like someone to critique that rhetoric. I will gladly volunteer for the job.